The New England Patriots couldn’t be happier with their decision to sign wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Diggs, who currently leads the team in targets (72), receptions (59), receiving yards (659) and first downs (34), joined the organization on a three-year deal that brought an end to its longtime search for an elite wide receiver.
I don’t have to tell you folks about that one…
Brandon Aiyuk, Cooper Kupp and Calvin Ridley are all names that might sound familiar, not just because they’ve all been prolific options throughout their careers, but because each of them were once targeted by Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf — who failed in all three instances.
Aiyuk, 27, was subject of a months-long saga that featured trade requests, offers from multiple different organizations and, eventually, and extension with the San Francisco 49ers. New England was one of three clubs (Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns) who put together a trade package, which included two potential extensions that each carried more than
Aiyuk shut them both down, as well as the advances of other teams, to eventually return on a four-year, $120 million contract extension in August 2024 — but has missed more games (21) than he’s played (seven) since the extension due to a longer-than-expected recovery after tearing his ACL against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kupp, 32, found himself on the open market after an illustrious career with the Los Angeles Rams, and despite some flirting, signed a three-year, $45 million deal this offseason with the Seattle Seahawks.
Kupp is on pace to finish with 73 receptions, 758 receiving yards and two touchdowns this season, which aren’t terrible numbers, but would all fall below that of his full-season averages (103 receptions, 1,271 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns) in LA.
Ridley, 30, was perhaps the closest to calling One Patriot Place home, having been involved in an aggressive back-and-forth with the club before eventually signing a four-year, $92 million deal with the Tennessee Titans. Patriots owner Robert Kraft believes the deciding factor in negotiations tied back to the fact that the veteran wide receiver’s girlfriend preferred to live in the south.
No, seriously.
Ridley has since gone on to total 80 receptions for 1,307 yards and four touchdowns across 23 games with the Titans — seeing his second season end early after suffering a broken leg on Sunday against the Houston Texans.
The Patriots avoided disaster with all three, despite making quite the effort to attract all three.
Diggs has undoubtedly been better this season, and is doing so with less guaranteed money ($26 million) than Aiyuk ($45 million) and Ridley ($50 million) — while also outpacing the only healthy option, Kupp, across the board.
If you’re going to completely whiff on your first three options, that’s how you do it.
The Seattle Seahawks suffered a 21-19 loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams, dropping to 7-3. But even worse, rookie guard Grey Zabel was forced to leave the game with a knee injury.
Head coach Mike Macdonald isn’t hitting the panic button just yet. But he is waiting to make a true declaration once all the information is available, via Greg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune.
“I’ll say it’s optimistic right now,” Macdonald said. “Initial news is really positive.”
“But let’s get out of the fog here,” he concluded.
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Zabel suffered his injury with just over two minutes remaining in the game. If he were to be out long-term, it would be a major blow for the Seahawks. But if Macdonald’s early intuition proves right, perhaps Seattle fans can soon breathe a sign of relief.
The left guard has started all 10 game for the Seahawks, playing 98 percent of the snaps. Even as a rookie, Zabel has already entrenched himself as a difference maker of the present and future. There is still room for improvement, as evident by his 49.3 grade from Pro Football Focus.
But Seattle has allowed a league-low 10 sacks, something is clearly working. The Seahawks want Zabel protecting Sam Darnold and will be carefully monitoring his knee injury throughout the week.
Whether Zabel can play or not won’t change Sam Darnold’s ability to limit turnovers. His four interceptions against the Rams proved extremely costly. He’ll certainly feel more comfortable in the pocket with Zabel protecting him. But the left guard can’t do it on his own.